Collection LoAA56 - Tovey / Marsh Collections

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Tovey / Marsh Collections

General material designation

  • Textual record
  • Graphic material

Parallel title

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Title notes

Level of description

Collection

Reference code

LoAA56

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1978-1996 (Creation)
    Creator
    Laboratory of Archaeology Archives
  • 1963 (Creation)
    Creator
    Gordon H. Marsh
  • 1961 (Creation)
    Creator
    Paul E. Tovey
  • 1961-1996, predominant 1961-1963 (Creation)
    Creator
    Charles E. Borden

Physical description area

Physical description

ca. 3.0 cm of textual material
50 photographs : b&w ; 20.5 x 25 cm or smaller.

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

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Archival description area

Name of creator

Paul E. Tovey

Biographical history

Paul Tovey was a teacher at the “government school” in Gambell on Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island), where he appears to have collected a wide range of belongings. On December 25, 1958, Tovey died in a plane crash.

Name of creator

Gordon H. Marsh
(1917-)

Biographical history

Gordon Marsh’s biography is difficult to piece together. He was a linguist and anthropologist. He studied under Franz Boas at Columbia University, going on fieldwork to support Boas’ research in 1936. 1954 finds him attached to the UBC Department of Economics, Political Science, and Sociology. There are also indications that he held a position at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, but further details are elusive. At some point prior to 1957, Marsh left academia to become a Russian Orthodox Priest, and in 1971 he donated all his research notes to the American Philosophical Society.

Name of creator

Charles E. Borden
(1905-1978)

Biographical history

Charles Edward Borden was born May 15, 1905 in New York City, raised in Germany. Returned to the United States and graduated from Berkeley with in M.A. in 1933 and then a Ph.D. in 1937 in German literature. After the war Borden began to become interested in Archaeology in British Columbia. He quickly progressed from amateur to professional and in 1949 was appointed Lecturer in Archaeology in the Departement of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in addition to keeping his position in the German department.

In 1945 Borden began to organize and conduct salvage archaeology projects in the face of development and the destruction of archaeological sites. After many years of lecturing, and serving on committees and boards, Borden played a major role in the passage by the British Columbia Legislature of the Archaeological Sites Protection Act in 1960.

Name of creator

Laboratory of Archaeology Archives

Biographical history

Custodial history

Tovey’s materials seem to have reached MOA at some point in 1961. The date of the arrival of Marsh's materials is unknown, but presumably some time around 1963 when Borden catalogued the belongings for both donations. In 2011, the collection was re-housed in the current LOA archives location (room 221A at MOA).

Scope and content

This collection contains records relating to a collection of Yup’ik, Iñupiat and Unangax̂ belongings donated by Paul Tovey and Gordon Marsh. Tovey’s widow contacted biologist Francis Fay, who had become friendly with the couple, in the hopes of arranging a buyer for collection. Fay, in turn, contacted Audrey Hawthorne, curator of the UBC Museum of Anthropology in 1960. Hawthorne seems to have agreed to the acquisition, but turned the collection over to Charles E. Borden at the Laboratory of Archaeology, and it was Borden who catalogued the donation. Gordon Marsh's collection was donated some time around 1963 and was catalogued by Charles E. Borden.

Paul Tovey’s collection was collected from Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island) Alaska. Catalogue #’s A 11000 to A 12620. (49 USA 3 : 11000 to 1620).

Gordon Marsh’s collection was collected from Attu Island, Umnak Island, otter point, Chaluka mound site, Kagamil Island, Alaska. Catalogue #’s A 12621 to 12821. (49 USA 4: 12621 to 12821).

This collection consists of 1 box and is arranged into 3 series:
1. Artifact Catalogues
2. Notes and Correspondence
3. Photographs

All the belongings from this collection are being cared for and are located in the LOA Collections.

Notes area

Physical condition

Papers yellowed but otherwise in good condition. Pages have been interleafed with acid-free paper.

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Permission from appropriate Indigenous Peoples prior to access may be required.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Under copyright; permission of rights owner may be required for reproduction

Finding aids

File list available

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

No more accruals are expected.

General note

These collections contain outdated and offensive terms.

Culturally sensitive note

Collections may contain culturally sensitive material.

Alternative identifier(s)

Black Volumes Index

A047

Standard number area

Standard number

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Control area

Description record identifier

Institution identifier

Rules or conventions

Status

Revised

Level of detail

Full

Language of description

  • English

Script of description

  • Latin

Accession area